Go Ahead, Make a Wish

“Reporter to appear June 26,” read the cover of the Santa Fe News’ Vol. 3, No. 22. The accompanying story described the new publication as “a modern tabloid, which will carry all the features of a standard newspaper.”

Founding editor Richard McCord was creating a new culture. "We hope to introduce a new brand of journalism to Santa Fe," McCord said, praising Santa Fe's unique profile as "one of the most interesting—if not the most interesting city of its size in the country." The splash piece also lauded Santa Fe's three cultures—a "remarkable mix of ethnic tension and racial harmony."

Hard to believe, but it's been 41 years since then, and the scrappy newsweekly is still standing.

An online article posted on Al Jazeera in 2013 proclaimed that alt-weeklies had "lost their voice." Newsflash: Print isn't the same monster it was even a decade ago. Many argue that the glory days are long gone without as much as posting a missed connections heads-up on Craigslist.

The people who currently opt to work in this last frontier, however, are among the most dedicated and focused professionals around. Each week, teams across the country that border on skeletal churn features, blurbs, briefs and punny headlines with all guts and very little to no glory. We do it out of conviction. We do it out of love.

Four decades and a year into our history, we still believe wholeheartedly in this community. SFR is fortunate enough to have lifers on our side, both readers and advertisers, who have made the Reporter feel at home since day one. To those who pick us up every week (whether you read us from cover-to-cover or not), we thank you. To all the small businesses, service providers and promoters who see in one of our humble Back Page listings a more viable platform than a free online ad, we thank you deeply. To our staff of full-time contributors and freelancers who have sacrificed so many personal milestones but never once missed a deadline, we are indebted to you.

Our mission today is the same as it was in the summer of '74: "We think Santa Fe deserves a strong, outspoken and conscientious newspaper. We offer the Reporter to try to fill that role."

For the record, even though we're officially middle-aged, the Reporter shows no signs of stopping. Now more than ever, we pledge to offer insightful copy and shine a compassionate light on the downtrodden. No, our voice hasn't been silenced. In fact, with a daily online presence over several channels and a steadfast dedication to our print issue, our voice is louder than ever. It's just a little gravelly with age.